Wow, you must have been the most successful rec coach in history if you were able to get all your rec players to use their left foot every time it was appropriate. I was never able to make that happen.

Did it occur to you that they don't shoot more from distance because that is the philosophy of the coaching staff? It may not be a philosophy that many of us agree with, but it does seem to be the case.

Concerning other teams using the UP video to scout the team. We have discussed this before in this forum. Why does anyone think that opposition coaches aren't making copies from the live feed? Lots of people do it. Any coach who is really concerned about scouting the Pilots via video is surely doing it too, knowing that the Pilots quickly take the replay off their site.

A_Fan wrote:Why does anyone think that opposition coaches aren't making copies from the live feed? Lots of people do it. Any coach who is really concerned about scouting the Pilots via video is surely doing it too, knowing that the Pilots quickly take the replay off their site.

A fair enough point, but if an opposing coach is going to such lengths, than good for them. No reason to make it easier for them though.

As a fan, I would love it if every school made video replays available, but since they don't, you can't blame our athletics staff for providing what amounts to an advantage for opposing teams just so we nutjobs on the message boards can break down the film Zapruder style.

Of course, a more sanguine outlook would be that this team is actually unlucky to have that one loss.

We've got a target on our back, and teams are always going to bring their A-game against us. This particular group of players hasn't had much experience playing as a Top 5 team, so there is a certain adjustment required when always playing opponents that come out determined, urgent, and highly motivated. The fact that the team is 12-1-1 and has now won nine straight is, I think, a pretty clear indicator that they are dealing with that pressure pretty well. Perfectly? No. But well enough to stay composed and win tough games not only on the road, but also at home when the expectations are sky-high. Is their room for improvement? Of course. But the past two seasons should have taught us that winning week in and week out is not an easy thing to do. This team should be commended for its composure, especially in late-game and "high stress" situations.

Last night, the Zags weren't allowing our players any time to possess the ball with their constant pressing. While there were times throughout the run of play that we didn't look great, I never thought Gonzaga outplayed us or were the more dangerous team.

One thing that I noticed yesterday - and I'd be happy to be corrected by the more astute posters on this board - was that it appeared as though we never had anyone making a run on the far post whenever we sent in crosses. It seemed to me like there were more than a few opportunities where a cross got past the keeper and past our player(s) and the Gonzaga defender(s) in the middle, only to roll harmlessly out of play because we didn't have anyone on the far post.

You are not off base. In our little cabal we were crying out for the opposite side wide midfielder, or someone, else to make exactly that run. Too often the players come to the middle too early and miss that far post ball.

This is not the first game we've seen this. It's a common refrain from our seats.

And I think the pass over shoot choices are a combination of coached style of play with the reality that making that choice in a split second is really tough and way harder from on the field than in our seats. I don't want to see players blazing away every time they are within sight of the goal. But I have also seen some occasions this year when I thought they could have pulled the trigger earlier.

The first goal last night was an example of where Parker could easily have taken the shot under ejjqb's urging but passed it up (pun intended) for a better option.

UPSoccerFanatic wrote:PS - When was the last time all -- or almost all -- of us saw an indirect free kick in the box?

I'm sure you want us to think the USA-Canada WC game, but Leblanc got called for handling on a backpass from Williamson against the Flash in a 0-0 tie on August 10.

I bet a lot of us saw that.

Brilliant! That must the one I was thinking of. I'm remembering another one -- it was in a Pilots' women's game when the keeper picked up the ball, put it back on the ground, and picked it up again. Do you remember that one? I had been thinking we hardly ever see indirect kicks, but now I'm thinking we see them more often than we remember. I think there was another one in a Pilots NCAA tournament game, when our keeper let the kick go right into the goal. It was "no goal" because it was an indirect kick.

UPSoccerFanatic wrote:PS - When was the last time all -- or almost all -- of us saw an indirect free kick in the box?

I think there was another one in a Pilots NCAA tournament game, when our keeper let the kick go right into the goal. It was "no goal" because it was an indirect kick.

That was Cori, I'm pretty sure, but I can't remember which game. more recently (2008) Kelsey Davis let one go in that was nullified for being an indirect kick against Penn state in he mud and rain at State College in a wet weekend at Rutgers and Penn State.

Very happy with the win, a little disappointed with the play. Many players failed to move to the ball or pass quickly. We have faced a number of physical pressing teams this year and refused to be pushed around. But Sat. we seemed to be intimidated and thrown off our game. I blame the refs.

Despite the lackluster play I am not too worried. It is one game, and it was a win. This team has shown they can play.

Everyone in the stands has been shouting for players to shoot. But is it really that much of a problem? We scored 3 goals on 14 (?+-) shots Sat? Not bad. Except the OG. As long as we score one more than our opponents I'm ok.

After a breakaway goal was thwarted (again) I heard a father say to his daughter, "Do you know how she could have avoided that? Shoot one second earlier".

Sippel, I think, is our most creative player on offense. Glad to see her getting more playing time. I think her minutes are related to her health. She could be a starter by play off time.

I don't think there is anything wrong with those asking for more shots to be taken. I think this philosophy hinders instinct and creativity. Makes players think too much, thus opportunities lost. Nothing wrong with wanting them to be more aggressive and hungry for striving to dominate the game, especially against an opponent they are more than capable of dominating. But Garrett is a genius at 12-1-1. I don't think it's wrong for us as fans to question or be concerned that the Pilots haven't been more effective. They have that ability. They have the talent. The talent on this team is high, and they should be Finishing teams off.

Evans has passed up shots that should have been taken. Most of her goals scored prior to playing with the Pilots were from a distance... So this coaching Philosohy is asking players to change when they come here? Let her play her game or let others play that can produce more in this style of play. 3 goals this year at the 18 or longer- out of 29 goals- how would you defend us?

Like ejjqb mentioned and no one had much to say other than commending his/her coaching ability, was the uncertainty of those to go to their left. The point was (I believe) either work with your players to make them comfortable with going to your right or left, or move them. I too noticed that, with Weatherington. The LMU game, Boon overlapped her every pass she gave her and she not once gave it back to her. That seems to be a coaching opportunity.

I too drink the kool aid as much as anyone, but there is no alcohol in mine, so I make sober observations. No Pregame Cervezas for this muchacha.

On another note, Facebook has swirled around to bring about news of Jeter redshirting this year.

While I agree with what ejjqb and Kronked are observing, one of the things I've deduced over the years is that the Pilots' season is a progression. As they move through the season, they work on different things and one of the tributes to the coaches is that they get the players to buy in, to the point that the players will do in games what they have been working on in practice. So, at different parts of the season we see the players focusing on different things in games. This is a tribute to the coaches because it means the players believe that if they are doing in games what the coaches have been emphasizing in practice, then the coaches will be happy with them regardless of the outcome. (Having been a tennis coach for a long time, I cannot emphasize enough how hard it is to get players to focus on implementing "new conduct" in game situations. Yet the Pilots' coaching staff seems able to get the players to do this, which is amazing to me.)

It's an educational process. There's a lot of PN focus on "where are we now," but not much on "what is the team working on now and how are they doing with it and how does it fit within the total college soccer educational process." I think they're doing really well with their learning. In fact, what some regard as not good, I regard as part of the player doing what is needed as part of her own learning experience.